Missouri Supreme Court backs Bayer in birth control lawsuit

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has sided with chemical manufacturer Bayer in its fight against a lawsuit over one of its birth control products.

Supreme Court judges in a unanimous Tuesday ruling said a lower court was wrong to deny Bayer's motion to dismiss out-of-state claims in the lawsuit.

Bayer says the case doesn't belong in Missouri because only seven of the 92 plaintiffs are from the state. The women sued for alleged medical complications from Essure, an implant that permanently prevents pregnancy.

Judges agreed that the case doesn't seem to fit in Missouri. They sent it back to the St. Louis Circuit Court to consider the women's new argument.

Plaintiffs now say the case belongs in Missouri because of clinical trials and a national marketing campaign based in the state.